WASHINGTON, D.C., May 15, 2009 – The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) has awarded the 2008 Sidney O. Smith Award to Bobby Bramlett. The award is the association’s highest individual government affairs honor.
“The Big ‘I’ is proud to announce that for going above and beyond the call of duty in service to his fellow agents and brokers, Bobby Bramlett is the 2008 Sidney O. Smith award recipient,” said Spencer Houldin, Big “I” Government Affairs Committee chairman. “Bobby is politically active in his home state of Oklahoma and has made a difference for independent agents through his enthusiasm and hard work on the issues that matter most to us.”
The Sidney O. Smith Award is bestowed annually by the Big “I” and the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia upon an individual agent or broker for outstanding service to his or her peers and the national association in the field of government affairs. It is named in honor of an IIABA past president and Georgia agent who was instrumental in focusing the association and its members on legislative advocacy.
In addition to his duties as president and CEO of the Bramlett Agency in Ardmore, Okla., Bramlett has been an active member of the Big “I” at the national and state association levels since starting his career as an independent agent in 1975. He is past president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma, (IIAO) where he also previously served as the chairman of the IIAO Young Agents, chairman of the state’s InsurPac committee and the IIAO’s director on the Big “I” national board. At the national level, Bramlett has been chairman of the Trusted Choice® Big “I” Junior Classic, the Agents Advocacy Fund and the State Government Affairs Committee. He has also served on the InsurPac Board of Trustees and is a member of the Commission to Enhance Agency Value.
“Bobby Bramlett has been instrumental in providing valuable insight to our agents and the Government Affairs Committee on a myriad of issues, especially health care insurance,” says Charles E. Symington, Big “I” senior vice president for government affairs. “His leadership on the Big ‘I’ Government Affairs Health Care Task Force and dedication to getting agents politically involved at the state and national level has generated results in Oklahoma and in the halls of Congress.”
Bramlett is also active in his community. He is the director of First National Bank and Trust of Ardmore, chairman of Perry Maxwell Intercollegiate and is a trustee on various boards including St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy and the Glen Foundation. Bramlett was born and raised in Ardmore, and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He and his wife Nanette are proud parents of son, Jake and daughter-in-law, Jennifer.
“Bobby’s commitment to his profession, his colleagues and his community are second to none,” says Robert Rusbuldt, Big “I” president and CEO. “Our membership has always prided itself on political engagement and role models like Bobby Bramlett are instrumental in the success of the independent agency system.”
Founded in 1896, the Big “I” is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
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